lesson

What are you saying? PT II

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I wrote a piece about thinking about what you are trying to say as a guitarist, and how guitar playing should be considered like speech. The more I think about this, the more I realise that it is also relevant to what I am saying in everyday talking. I do tend to say the same things, in the same way. I say a lot, I sometimes talk quickly, I use the same inflections, the same old jokes, the same banter, the same platitudes, exactly as I do in my guitar playing! So this lesson is relevant in both my guitar playing and my actually life. I feel I need to do some of the following :-

  • Slow down
  • Don't rush to get words/notes out
  • Pause
  • Breath
  • Adjust timbre of words/notes
  • Use more considered words/notes
  • Think about emphasising certain words/notes
  • Trying saying something I wouldn't normally say

Time to investigate and research techniques which help change the way we speak, and how we speak and apply them to the guitar!I am now making a concerted effort to think about what I am saying and more importantly, how I am saying it....both in life and on the guitar!PeaceNeil

Martian Love Secrets - Steve Vai - Tocal Day 12

Isn't it funny how synergies or serendipidies occur? I am just getting ready to start the Specialist Blues, Rock and Jazz guitar program at Berklee on Monday (so excited) and I was clearing out some old guitar lessons and I came across some photocopies of the Martian Love Secret lessons by Steve Vai from 1989 (!!!). I actually had the original magazine (from which I made the copy) and I remember reading and devouring the lessons as a teenager. There was something about these lessons which really spoke to me, and changed the way I approached the guitar and even more dramatically life. I really recommend you give them a read if you need to be inspired and are looking for something beyond some simple guitar exercises.I had seen Steve Vai performing the year previously (1988!) with David Lee Roth on the Skyscraper tour and that had been a revalatory experience too, it is funny that all these years later I am finally embarking on the course I wanted to all those years ago.Believe in yourself and your dreams"I am that....."PeaceNeil